


Tickle War

by dropdeadcynical



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Intimacy, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 05:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3637692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dropdeadcynical/pseuds/dropdeadcynical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Inquisitor returns from her lengthy adventures and can't wait to see her Commander.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tickle War

The open gates of Skyhold were a truly welcome sight. After nearly five weeks away it felt like arriving at the gates of Heaven itself, minus the dying part. Talia shifted slightly in the saddle of her horse, the time spent on horseback was not a good thing for her back. Or her rear. Or her anything.

She and the rest of her party were greeted by a group of Inquisition soldiers at the gates, their eagerness to salute and serve put a smile on her face. She had missed this, the feeling of accomplishment whenever she gazed upon the men and women serving the Inquisition. The weeks spent in a desolate wasteland had made her feel lonely, even in the company of her closest friends. The constant buzzing of Skyhold’s residents was something she had grown accustomed to and something she now couldn’t do without. It was a reminder of how far the Inquisition had come, a reminder of how a good cause can unite thousands of people from across Thedas.

But more than anything, she had missed the company of a certain blond advisor. She had spent most nights hugging her pillow, trying to feel warmth it couldn’t provide, to feel _his_ warmth. The constant fiddling with the coin he had given her prior to her departure had kept her mind at ease, and the fact that he had given her something that obviously meant a lot to him and something that he had kept for a large part of his life warmed her heart. She had promised herself that she’d turn the coin into a necklace so that she could always carry it around, without worrying about losing it by having it fall out of her pocket.

Now looking across the sea of people that had gathered around the Inquisitor and her party, she felt a tiny pang of disappointment when she couldn’t find the person she was truly hoping to see. Without wasting any time, she dismounted her horse and gave the reins to one of the stable hands present at the gates. Her party members were already shuffling away to their respective corners of Skyhold, so she moved through the crowd and greeted people along her way to the steps to the main hall. The several sets of stairs felt more exhausting to climb than usual, her aching muscles straining and her footsteps heavy. Still, she made her way up the stairs and took a moment to stretch and breathe once she reached the top.

Talia could’ve gone straight to her quarters to freshen herself up. She definitely could have. But instead she walked towards Varric and patted him on the shoulder as she walked past him into Solas’ room. He wasn’t present at the time, so she walked over to his desk and threw a quick glance at the notes on it. She picked a parchment that didn’t look too important or official and drew crude drawings on it. He’d blame Sera for it, and she couldn’t wait to hear the inevitable argument between the two when Sera, for once, isn’t the culprit. _It’s good to be home,_ she thought.

When she heard approaching footsteps from the stairs she bolted out through the door and slammed it shut. Solas would presumably check what all the ruckus was about so she quickly skipped across the bridge and over to the door to Cullen’s tower. Her nerves overtook her again when she stared at the wooden door. What would she say, how could she say it? She wanted him to know how much she had missed him, how much she had wanted him next to her out there, and more than anything she wanted him to know how much she cared about him. But she had trouble with words and how to make her words know, so she decided to show him instead.

Knocking twice on the door and opening it slowly, she peeked her head in and saw Cullen sitting at his desk with a quill in his hand. He was presumably expecting another Inquisition soldier or a messenger and not her, so he didn’t raise his gaze to her just yet. With a grin on her face she shut the door behind her and leaned against it. He still didn’t look up at her, too caught up in whatever he was writing. The lines on his forehead seemed deeper than usual and he was leaning his head against his left hand, squishing his cheek against it. She also noted that he wasn’t wearing his usual set of armor, but had instead opted for a simple white cotton shirt but he still wore his fur mantle. An unusual but adorable sight for her, but she didn’t plan on staring all day. Since he still hadn’t noticed her, she cleared her throat to get his attention, which she did. His eyes peered up at her and back down at his paper, seemingly not realizing that it was her at first. He quickly glanced back up and dropped his quill. “You’re back!” he exclaimed while rising up from his chair. The chair creaked a bit as it was pushed back, but neither of them paid it any mind. They both smiled at each other, and without thinking she bolted forward from her position at the door and leapt over his desk and into his arms. It was unexpected and it sent Cullen tumbling backwards and back down into the chair with a ‘oomph!’

Talia worried for a split second that she had been too brash or if she was too heavy for him, but the deep laughter from Cullen put her mind at ease and made her laugh as well. She buried her face in the fur of his mantle and his arms went around her in a tight grip, both their eyes teary from laughter. Raising her head from the soft fur she cupped his face in both her hands and just took him in for a second. Those lovely amber eyes and the crinkles at the corners, the creases on his forehead and the slight stubble of his jaw. And of course that striking scar on his upper lip. _So incredibly handsome._

She leaned in and claimed his mouth in a soft and gentle kiss, her hands still on his cheeks and rubbing her thumbs in slow circles against his jaw. His hands grabbed her legs and repositioned them into a more comfortable position for her, both of them on one each side of him and her straddling his hips. Strong arms enveloped her again, a sigh escaping his mouth when she deepened the kiss slightly. It went on for what seemed like hours before she eventually pulled away and leaned her forehead against his. Her hands went from holding his face to behind his neck and into his hair. “Maker, I have missed you so incredibly much” she said, kissing different parts of his face after each word which coaxed a light chuckle from him. Cullen’s hands moved from her hips to holding her face, bringing her back close to him again and nuzzling their foreheads together. “I missed you too” he said softly, almost a whisper. The tingling in her belly returned, but for different reasons this time. Interactions like these always left her feeling like she could walk on clouds.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important,” she said while glancing back at his desk and the unfinished letter, “but you seemed like you needed a break.” He shifted a bit beneath her, trying to make himself more comfortable while sinking deeper into the chair. He was effectively trapped underneath her but he didn’t mind. “Believe me,” he mumbled while tugging her closer to him, “I appreciate the distraction.”

Mischief on her mind and a smirk on her lips, she leaned back and looked at him. “I hope you will also appreciate _this_ ,” she grinned as he dug her fingers into his side and started tickling him. She had discovered this weakness a while earlier, and she just couldn’t resist doing it now that he wasn’t wearing his protective armor. His rich and frantic laughter and desperate attempts to make her stop spurred her on, her legs clamping together at his hips to prevent him from bucking. His arms were trying to grasp hers, but she was too quick and continued her cuddly and loving assault. His deep laughter only increased; one of the most beautiful and rare sounds she had ever heard. How could she possibly stop if it meant not hearing it?

She was caught off-guard when he suddenly stood up with whatever strength he had left and nearly slammed her down on his desk on top of several parchments and scrolls, many that went flying from the force of her landing. Now both of them were laughing breathlessly and a red flush adorned both their faces, making them look younger and seemingly without a care in the world for nothing but each other. He bent down at the waist and placed his arms on each side of her, lacing their fingers together and kissed her nose which earned him a giggle. They kissed each other over and over again, each kiss longer and deeper than the last. Suddenly he straightened himself again, dragging his fingers along the sides of her body as he went. The soft touch caused her breath to hitch and her body to arch slightly. He grasped the edge of her shirt and pulled it up over her belly, exposing it to the air. He dragged his finger from one side of her belly to the other, watching as it twitched under his touch.

 “Don’t even _think_ about it,” she warned with her eyes fixed on his. She gulped as the corners of his mouth pulled up into a smirk, and before she even had time to react he dipped down and blew a raspberry on her belly and gripped her hips tightly. It was now her turn to shriek out in laughter, throwing her head back on the desk and trying with all her strength and hands in his hair to pry him away from her.  It was all for naught, as he was much stronger than her and determined to get his payback on her. “Please stop, I yield! I submit!” she cried out of laughter, her entire body twitching from his onslaught. Surprisingly he actually stopped blowing air onto her belly, but he still scratched his stubbly cheek against her soft skin and planted feather-light kisses where redness appeared. Leaning back up, he took her hands in his and pulled her up to him, guiding her arms up and over his shoulders. He snaked his arms around her and pulled her lower body closer to him, with him standing impossibly close to her between her legs.

“I hope you can forgive me, my lady,“ he said in between sloppy kisses, moving his lips to her forehead and back down to her mouth and then to her jaw. She grasped the furs of his mantle when he moved even lower down to her throat and sucked hard enough to leave a mark. She turned her head and returned the kisses, also leaving him with a very obvious mark on his neck.

“I’ll have to consider it,” she murmured in his ear before gently nibbling on his lobe. She felt his body shudder against hers and his arms tighten around her. _Oh, she had missed this very much._

**Author's Note:**

> This is kinda a follow-up to "Can't Keep My Eyes Off You" buuuuut at the same time it's not really. I'm also bit obsessed with the raspberry thing as you might have noticed :-)
> 
> Again, this is a fic with a very vaguely described Inquisitor but I diiiiid write this with my beloved Talia Trevelyan in mind, since I used her name. If you're curious what she looks like you can find a bunch of stuff of her on my tumblr blog here: http://cullenrutherford.tumblr.com/tagged/ch:talia-trevelyan


End file.
